Full Moons and Flashbacks
by wisegirlgranger
Summary: On September 1, 1993, a werewolf boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time in over ten years. But unlike his previous experiences on the train, what happened that day was far from ordinary, and for more reasons than one.


_1 September, 1993_

Remus Lupin arrived two hours early to Kings Cross Station, just as he had done on the first of September every year as a boy. He was dressed in his old school uniform (a black robe) and carried only a suitcase and a wand. Like he had done many times before, Remus immediately boarded the train and went straight to the fourth compartment from the back, on the right. He sat near the window with his back to the lavatory, the same spot he had sat in the previous twenty-something times he had been on the train. Stowing his suitcase under his seat instead of in one of the places designated above (as if he was saving that area for the luggage of others), he pulled out _Hogwarts, A History_ and began reading the first chapter for the thirtieth time. Of course, the book was aged, the robe faded, and his suitcase worn - a clear indication that it was no longer the 1970s, and Remus was no longer a boy.

As he read, a wave of nostalgia washed over him. It had been a long time since he'd thought about finding a job; even longer since he'd thought about his school days. Because school meant friends, equality, and most importantly, the Marauders and the Order - nearly all of whom were dead or rotting in prison. But seeing the Hogwarts Express made Remus remember all the memories he'd suppressed for almost ten years. Even the momentary reminiscence began to make him feel sick.

 _No_ , he was actually sick. Remus quickly dashed out of the compartment and into the lavatory, where he spent a good hour. This month's full moon had been particularly horrendous. Exhausted from the nausea, Remus decided to take a nap.

* * *

He woke up quite sometime later, and opened his eyes _just_ enough to see inside the compartment without others noticing he was awake.

"Who d'you reckon he is?" Someone with red hair (all that was visible from his vantage point) asked, undoubtedly about him.

He caught another glimpse of red hair - this time long and curly - as a female's voice answered, ""Professor R. J. Lupin, it's on his case."

 _Lily's always been the smart one_ , Remus thought sleepily.

* * *

Remus slept until the conversation of the students shifted tone, and he heard the name he never thought he would hear again. Sirius Black.

"I don't go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds me," James said. _Wait, what?_ James was dead. Hell, most of his friends were dead. But Remus could have sworn that he heard James's voice, seen Lily's hair…

Remus opened his eyes fully for a few minutes; no one noticed he was awake because someone's Sneakoscope had gone off. The first thing he saw was a young boy with messy black hair and glasses. _So much like James_. When he spoke again, Remus swore the boy sounded exactly like James too.

The children settled back in their seats, and Remus relaxed once more. He really needed to rest, the full moon always made him a bit woozy - especially since nowadays, he rarely had any company to take his mind off of things.

* * *

The James-look-alike was talking about Hogsmeade (Remus began to crave Butterbeer) and how he wouldn't be able to go. _Tough luck,_ Remus thought. He had always relished the monthly outings - Professor McGonagall had made it a point to schedule them around the full moons whenever possible so he could go.

"The Dursleys didn't sign my permission form, and Fudge wouldn't either," the boy complained.

At this, Remus almost sat straight up. _Dursley_ was the name of that pompous idiot Lily's sister (Begonia?) had married. Remus had only met the man once, and that had been enough for him to thoroughly despise him. If this boy's uncle was a Dursley…

No, it can't be.

Harry Potter was in his compartment.

* * *

He listened to the chatter, straining to hear Harry's voice whenever it came up. He spoke calmly but surely, just like James. The boy was the exact likeness of his father, too, and from what he picked up from the conversation, Harry was also quite the quidditch player (though a seeker, not a chaser).

The girl who seemed to be the brains of the group was reading _Hogwarts, A History_. Remus already took a liking to her. Another girl, the one with red hair (it turns out that there was two different girls in the compartment), was squabbling with the red-haired boy (her brother, probably) next to her over some chocolate.

Suddenly, the train went dark. He could hear the children falling over each other (another boy seemed to have joined the group and accidently fell on Harry). Quickly, Remus sat up and conjured some portable flames in the palm of his hands.

"Stay where you are," he said, as he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him.

Before he made it to the door, however, it had already slid open and Remus was face-to-face with a Dementor.

Suddenly, there was a crash behind him. Remus turned, the hand with the flames still pointed at the Dementor. Harry Potter had fainted and was jerking violently.

Quickly, Remus mumbled a patronus, using the memory of Lily and James's wedding. It wasn't quite strong enough (old memories never worked as well) but the dementor left the cabin. Remus turned as the smart girl and the red-haired boy lifted Harry back onto his seat.

Remus pulled some chocolate out of his pocket and handed it to Harry.

"Here, eat it. It'll help." Harry took the chocolate.

"What was that thing?" he asked, terrified. Remus was almost certain the boy had seen his parent's death, or at least a flash of it.

"A dementor," he replied, giving chocolate to everyone else. "One of the dementors of Azkaban."

Everyone stared at him, some gasped in horror.

Not knowing what to say or how much he was allowed to reveal, Remus turned towards the door. "Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me..."

It was going to be a long school year, that was for certain.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **OK first things first - all dialogue in the story was directly from PoA. I don't own anything.**

 **Anyway-**

 **Long time no see! This is a quick drabble I wrote in about an hour; I realized that September 1 1993 was a FULL MOON and that was also when Remus Lupin returned to Hogwarts. I hope you enjoyed the story :)**

 **As advertised in my previous story, I'm working on a larger story right now. it's almost done so hopefully I should have the first chapter up soon.**

 **ALSO, I'm on tumblr now! (tumblr dot com slash wisegirlgranger14). I have a grand total of 0 followers so please check out my blog :)**

 **I think that's it for now. Until next time!**

 **WGG**


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